Share this:

There are close games, there are blowouts and then there is what happened in Indianapolis on Tuesday night between two high school girls’ basketball teams.

Bloomington South High School beat Arlington High School 107-2, sparking outrage among many who are seeing the unbelievable margin of victory as a sure sign of poor sportsmanship.

“[The score] is probably not what we would like to see,” admitted Indiana High School Athletic Association spokesman Chris Kaufman after the game. Kaufman also pointed out that the state does not enforce any kind of mercy rule. Still, 105 points seems to be a little excessive, no matter what the state’s rulebook might say.

Arlington was shut out by Bloomington South in both the first and fourth quarters of the game, while they did manage to make one free throw in each of the second and third quarters. The winners didn’t seem to have any regrets afterwards either, as coach Larry Winters clarified to an Indiana TV station he played all nine girls on his team.

Locals in Indianapolis are weighing in, with many disparaging the winners. Others question whether the Arlington coach should have pulled his players off the court in lieu of suffering the embarrassment of a triple-digit defeat. Whatever the reaction, one thing is clear: Indiana should probably revisit that whole “mercy rule” thing before Bloomington South gets a chance to play any more games.